The scouts don’t rank him, but he was an All Star in the Florida State League, so what gives?
- Born: December 27, 1998
- B/T: L/L
- 6’1″, 175-lbs
- Signed by the Philadelphia Phillies in 2015 out of Venezuela
The Numbers
His raw numbers are listed above courtesy of baseball-reference.com. Let’s aggregate by year then focus on the important numbers for minor leaguers:
That’s a lot of red up there, so it’s no wonder he’s not making top prospect lists yet. But let’s find what’s good and what’s bad in the above chart:
- Good: That strikeout rate is fantastic! Level after level, they simply cannot strike Muzziotti out. And the speed is good, he could nab 20 bases a season at this point. The walk rate is improving at least. And it was good to see that .337 OBP in 2019, and .287/.337/.372 line is really impressive in the notoriously pitching-friendly Florida State League, so it’s no wonder he was named to the A+ All Star Team.
- Bad: No power at all, at this point.
Another warning flag: he was beyond helpless against lefties last year. Again, this is the Florida State League, so we won’t assign him to a platoon just yet, but it’s worth keeping an eye on why he hit righties so well there while not doing anything against lefties.
A very balanced chart here, just without power. Even most of the doubles are into the middle outfield, not near the walls.
The key factor here is his career OPS average is .658, which is really poor.
That said, in 2019 he really strove to reach the .800 level, before succumbing to FSL pitching, then trying hard to get back up there late in the season. It was an impressive year.
The Scouts
- Rotowire: Not on their Top 400.
- BaseballHQ: Not on their Top 100.
- Fangraphs: Not on their Top 120.
- Fantasy Six Pack: Not on their dynasty list.
- Prospects365: Not on Ray Butler’s Top 200.
- Imaginary Brick Wall: Not on the Top 487.
- Fantrax: Not on the Top 250.
Warnings
At 6’1″ and only 175 pounds, he’s thin. Until he fills in, we won’t know how much power potential he has. He’s 21 now, so he should be reaching maturity soon, but if we do not see game power, it will be a lack in his game.
Will his good OBP carry over into AA, or will it go back to his earlier seasons? He has speed, but it’s only useful if he can get on base.
Conclusion
His center field defense is so good, Muzziotti is likely to make the majors on that alone. His speed will help in on defense and on the base paths. His batting eye is good, but unless he develops power, upper level pitching will challenge him mercilessly. You think Florida State League pitching is tough? Wait till he sees the majors!